The so-called black ships of Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perrys two visits to Japan in 1852-54 were the symbols of what the outside world had to offer the Japanese as featured in this Japanese print from about 1861.

Perrys Victory on Lake Erie. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Academy Museum.

Reproduction of a painting of the USS Constellation by Phillips Melville

In Spray Pattern by Navy reservist Herbert C. Hahn, the Allen M. Sumner or Gearing class destroyer was escorting a carrier during the Korean War. Hahn had been called to active duty and was assigned to the USS Boxer (CV-12) where his spare-time sketches of ship activities caught the notice of senior officers. He requested and was assigned duty as a combat artist.

Perry Expedition to Japan 1852-1855: In this lithograph by Sarony & Co., by artist W. HEINE E. BROWN, JR., DIREXT, we see the landing of Commordore Perry, officers & men of the squadron, to meet the Imperial Commissioners at Yoku-Hama, Japan, March 4, 1854. Original in U.S. Navy Art Collection. (R.B. Griffin Collection)

This striking illustration, created by John Philip Falter for one of his more than 300 recruiting posters during World War II, was derived from a Navy photograph taken in 1943 of WAVE Virginia L. Scott. She is operating a radiotelegraph key sending a message from the code room of the Radio School at Madison, Wisconsin. Falter (1910-1982) enlisted in the Navy, but was quickly promoted and continued his work that in civilian life eventually garnered him 129 covers of The Saturday Evening Post along with numerous illustrations in publications including McCalls, LIFE, Look, Good Housekeeping, and Cosmopolitan.

Stake your future in the Navy. U.S. Navy recruiting poster.

Pride Runs Deep. U.S. Navy recruiting poster.

U.S. Navy Recruiting poster image.

Courtesy of the Beverley R. Robinson Collection, U.S. Naval Academy Museum, Annapolis, MD.

Coast Guard Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro protects withdrawing Marines at Guadalcanal. During WWII the U.S. Coast Guard performed a wide variety of duties. One of the more important tasks was manning amphibious craft for the U.S. Navy. It was

"The U.S. Frigate Sabine, rescuing a battalion of U.S. Marines from the transport Governor" On the 2nd Nov. 1861 off the Coast of South Carolina the Sabine fell in with the Transport Governor, in a sinking condition and took from her a Battali

Charles Waterhouse's The Final Stand at Bladensburg shows Capt. Samuel Miller's 12-pounders in action beside the Washington Turnpike (USMC Art Collection)